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It’s a bit strange to capitalize on other people’s untimely tragedies, but the goal of this profession is to mitigate hazards for the innocent public. Employers will cover what you need to know to ensure that all clean ups follow OSHA requirements and that you stay safe while at work. It’s wise to obtain certifications and training, but it is not always required. To become a crime scene cleaner, you do not need a college degree. These companies work closely with government agencies, individuals, coroners, and law enforcement, as these are the first responders to events that ultimately require a crime scene cleaner. There are over 500 crime scene cleaning companies in the US. Over time, a six-figure salary isn’t unheard of if the crime scene cleaner works in a major market with constant demand for crime scene cleaning services. Entry-level crime scene cleaners can make $40,000 per year. A 12-hour crime scene clean up can cost over $5,000. Crime scene cleaners may charge upwards of $250 an hour. The owner of the property generally pays the cleaning costs. Disposal is expensive and requires proper permits. They utilize unique cleaning equipment and containers to capture and transport hazardous materials for disposal. While at work, crime scene cleaners wear protective suits, gloves, boots, and respirators. If a scene is left unclean, people can get sick months or even years afterwards. It’s a gross job that mixes high end cleaning with a bit of construction to ensure that the scene of an incident is no longer dangerous.Ĭleaning must happen in a timely manner to ensure that the general public is safe. They have to be mentally tough to deal with these scenarios and they can’t let the blood, guts, and stomach-churning stenches get to them.Ī crime scene cleaner could spend the day removing blood stains from carpets, picking bone fragments out of walls, collecting lost body parts, wiping brain matter out of crevices, disinfecting and decontaminating math labs, ripping out cabinets splattered with poison, removing lingering tear gas, cleaning out a hoarder’s home, collecting syringes for evidence, dealing with an Ebola scare, or cutting out flooring covered in guts. These biohazard mitigation specialists literally work in some of the queasiest “offices” you can imagine. Whenever there is blood, bodily fluids, poisons, or contaminated and infectious materials present, a crime scene cleaner is called in to clean up the mess.
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